


Lies To Buy Myself Some Time

by LaLainaJ



Series: Make Some Noise [133]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M, Kidnapping, Mermaid!Caroline, Pirate!Klaus, Sabotage, klarolineauweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2019-01-29 22:11:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12640224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaLainaJ/pseuds/LaLainaJ
Summary: Caroline might be chained to the bottom of a pirate ship but that doesn't mean she's going to meekly do as she's ordered. Klaus should have known that.





	Lies To Buy Myself Some Time

**Lies To Buy Myself Some Time**

**(Prompt: mermaid caroline has found herself tied up on this awful british dude's pirate ship and told to navigate them to the island on the treasure map and she knows perfectly well where the treasure is but it's just SO MUCH MORE FUN to give them wrong directions. Title from "Ocean of Noise" by Arcade Fire. Rated K+)**

Above her it's chaos and Caroline basks in it, her eyes on the horizon as the sun sets.

She can hear the sailors rushing to and fro, their footsteps pounding the ships' wooden deck. There's shouting, harried questions and clipped answers, and above the panicked din  _his_  voice is the loudest.

Captain Niklaus Mikaelson is livid, barking orders at a rapid clip. It's deliciously satisfying for Caroline. She hums happily, swimming lazy circles, her movement limited by the enchanted manacle and chain that keeps her imprisoned, attached to a hook imbedded into the hull.

Any guilt she  _might_  have felt about the ship's damage is erased each time the tug of her tether reminds Caroline of what he'd done to her.

It takes long minutes for the noise to die down, the sun slowly sinking. She hears anchor hits the water with a splash and the ship groans, listing slightly to one side.

Oops. Looks like the treasure hunt was going to be delayed.

She faintly hears her name being called but she ignores it, despite the sharp insistence in the voice, sinking as deeply as she can into the water. If Klaus wants to talk to her he's going to have to get wet. His voice cuts off for an instant and then she hears a string of curses. The two thuds that follow are familiar (Klaus shedding his boots) as is the clatter that follows (his pants and heavy belt). A second later his body slices through the water on the starboard side, smoothly righting itself and kicking back to the surface.

For a human, Caroline had to admit, he was fairly impressive in the water. She studies him without really meaning to, captivated by the way the muscles of his legs bunch and relax as he treads water.

It's only natural that she finds that fascinating, aches to touch him, to map the contours with her fingertips and learn what the motions feel like. They're so different from her tail.

He's quieter when he addresses her again but no less forceful, "Caroline, if you are not above the waterline within the next few seconds I  _will_  shorten your line. You think you miss your freedom now? I could be far less benevolent, love."

When she crests the water she's shaking with fury, " _Don't_  threaten me," she spits.

"You ran my ship aground."

"Did I? Odd, I could have sworn  _you_  were the one doing the steering."

His eyes fall closed and his chest expands as he takes a deep breath. It's a gesture he repeats often, one that means he's struggling to reign in his temper. It no longer scares her – as hot as his anger burns he's never lashed out at her in his fury.

No, he prefers to coax. He can spin honey sweet words, beguile with smiles and knowing eyes.

It's how he'd gotten close enough to clasp the cuff around her wrist.

"You have a single job, Caroline. Once it's complete you'll be free. Don't you want to be free?"

Of course she did. But she wanted him to suffer more.

She remains silent, slipping lower into the water, her eyes narrowed into slits.

Klaus is not a stupid man and he eases closer to her. "I need this treasure," he says, almost gentle. There might, for the first time, be a hint of apology there and Caroline allows his approach. "It took weeks to track your people down, longer still to get close. Merchant ships cross these waters daily, sitting heavy with gold. They're easy pickings if I just wanted wealth. I  _have_  wealth, enough to last several lifetimes. What I'm after is something different."

This is the first she's heard of that. She wants to stay silent, stoic. But she's always been one to ask questions, seek answers. "And what, exactly, are you looking for?"

This time his exhale is longer, frustrated. "I'm not precisely sure. There's a legend."

"And those are always real," Caroline mutters, making no attempt to mask the healthy helping of sarcasm.

"Says the mermaid," Klaus shoots back.

Okay, fine. He had a point.

She rephrases, "What does what you're looking for have to do with me?"

He reaches for her, watching her face carefully as he brushes her arm. Caroline tenses but he makes no move to grab her. The touch remains light, skimming over the sigil inked on her skin. "The tattoo on your shoulder. What does it mean?"

He'd never asked before even though she'd caught him staring at it often. "It's a rite of passage," she begins. "We receive it when we reach adulthood, once we are entrusted with the secrets of our territory."

His hand leaves her skin, grasping one of the leather cords he wears around his neck. He toys with a silver medallion, turning it over. Caroline instinctively leans closer to see what's etched on it. The light is low but her eyes are sharp and she recognizes the shapes lines easily. She touches a fingertip to the metal, "That's my tattoo. Our clan's crest."

"It's my father's crest too. It's all over a manor thousands of miles from here. Not the house of the man who raised me but the home of a man I never knew. My mother gave me a letter upon her husband's death. It contained the medallion and a map, a few brief words of regret from a man who never got to meet his son. It's that map that led me to the island where we met."

Her hand falls from his throat, grazing his chest before sinking into the water to latch around her wrist. She tugs at the cuff, something she's done hundreds of times in the last few weeks, but it doesn't budge. His eyes follow the motion and he glances away.

She'd thought him in danger the first time she'd spotted him, half submerged in the shallows of a tiny, uninhabited island, wearing only trousers that had been torn at the knees. She'd spied no ships docked, no supplies on the shore, and he'd barely been moving.

Damn her soft heart. It was entirely responsible for her current predicament.

Caroline had  _thought_  she'd been rescuing him, performing an act of charity, but he'd merely been resting. Later he'd explained that he'd been filthy and exhausted, having been dropped off by his crew to explore the island. Having been working all morning to construct a camp he'd sought relief from the sun in the cool blue waters and she'd interrupted.

Klaus had been startled when she'd grabbed his shoulders in an attempt to haul him up so she could check his heartbeat. Caroline had panicked when he'd begun to flail, had met his wide blue eyes for an instant before she'd turned her back and dived deep into the water to escape.

"You saw my tattoo the first day," Caroline says, when the realization dawns. "And you lured me back because of it."

Her curiosity had gotten the best of her embarrassingly quickly. She'd crept back to observe him as soon as dusk had fallen, watching from a safe distance. She'd found herself fascinated by him, had avidly watched him put the finishing touches on a shelter and built a fire. He'd caught fish and cooked them over the flames and, once they were prepared, he'd stood and called out to her.

She'd have never thought that she'd find being addressed as "Miss Mermaid" endearing before that moment.

He'd offered to share his dinner and Caroline had swum closer, her curiosity getting the better of her. She'd always hungered for new adventures but excitement was in short supply in the waters she'd lived in her whole life. Meeting a human, eating cooked fish, weren't experiences she'd ever had and she'd rushed into them headlong.

Caroline had taken a leap and shown herself, following the tide in and accepting the tin plate he'd offered. The fish had been a little burnt but she hadn't minded, had quickly become absorbed in learning about her new human acquaintance. She'd had an endless pile of questions for him about things she'd observed and he'd indulged her, never seeming to find any question too silly or insignificant.

She'd come back the next night, and the next and the one after that. She arrived a bit earlier each time, lingered longer. Klaus had worked to win her trust, sitting side by side with her in the water fielding her questions and telling her the stories his people had made up about the stars.

When he'd finally taken her hand she'd shivered, her breath beginning to quicken. Her heart had begun to flutter wildly in anticipation that had taken a sharp turn to confusion.

Because Klaus had  _cuffed_  her and Caroline had never felt colder or more stupid.

"Why didn't you just  _ask_  me?" Caroline demands, all of her banked fury rising. It's suffocating and difficult to contain. Her fingers curl, the temptation to wrap them around his throat nearly overwhelming. "I would have helped you."

Klaus blinks, something like surprise flitting across his face. "Why?" he asks, the word thick with surprise.

Caroline lets out a harsh noise, "Because I thought you were my friend! Because I thought…" she snaps her teeth together, cutting off a confession that Klaus didn't deserve.

The play of emotions across Klaus' face is hard to follow. Shock and disbelief and regret twist his features before they settle into something that looks like hope. "Would you help me now?" He asks carefully. "After I've…"

"Kept me chained to your boat like a prisoner?" Caroline supplies harshly.

He sighs, his shoulders tensing. "It's not an acceptable excuse, I know. But it never occurred to me to just ask. Where I'm from people don't just help other people. Not unless they get something in return."

To Caroline that sounded like an awful way to live.

"How badly is the ship damaged?"

"We'll limp into a port at first light. She'll probably need a week of repairs. I won't know for sure until she's in dry dock."

Caroline doesn't try to hide her triumphant grin. She's been leading Klaus in all sorts of wrong directions out of spite and anger and a sheer stubborn determination to keep him from his goal. This is her most successful sabotage yet and she's immensely pleased with herself.

Klaus appears resigned to her glee, "I'll admit I should have been paying more attention to my surroundings but I've had a lot on my mind."

"Oh, poor you," Caroline bites out. She lifts her wrist, lets it hover in front of his face. "Let me go and  _maybe_  I'll help you."

His lips press together, and he shakes his head, "Sweetheart, I can't just…"

"You can," she insists forcefully. "I think it's become abundantly clear that I am perfectly content to lead you in circles and into catastrophe. If you want to find your treasure you need to try another tactic. When you uncuff me I'm going to leave. I need to swim and I need some time. I'll find you in a week."

He wavers, "How can I know that you're telling the truth?"

"You're just going to have to trust me."

His hand goes to the leather cords again, finding one and following it around to the back of his neck. He tugs it to the side and she spies the key knotted there. "I'm probably going to regret this," he mutters, more to himself than her.

Caroline holds her wrist higher, brows rising pointedly. She's not sure if she'll end up coming back, truth be told. He'd betrayed her and it would serve him right if she left him waiting for her in a port she'd never swim in to. "I guess we'll see," she says sweetly.

The cuff comes off her wrist and sinks into the water. Caroline takes one last long look at Klaus. Just in case she never sees him again. He opens his mouth and she knows that whatever he says will just confuse her, would make it harder for her to leave, so Caroline flees, diving deep and swimming hard, putting as much distance as she can between them.

It's the only way she'll be able to make the right decision.


End file.
